


A Mix of Shallots and Shrimp

by Stacysmash



Series: Random Rare Pairs [38]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Confessions, Crushes, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Getting Together, I'll never get tired of the trope, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, University AU, they were roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-16 04:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17542589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stacysmash/pseuds/Stacysmash
Summary: One difference between playing volleyball in high school compared to college was the size of his teammates. Slipping through the crowded locker room was like navigating a jungle of sweaty tree trunks that had no perception of how big they were. Luckily, Hinata was just as agile off the court as he was on and had a finesse about weaving through his senpai and hopping over the bench in the middle. He nearly got hit in the face by a locker and swerved out of the way at the last second, only to run smack into someone’s chest. A bare, freshly showered andhardchest.New Years Rare Pair Challenge! KinHina +University AU





	A Mix of Shallots and Shrimp

**Author's Note:**

> A request for Anon on Tumblr, thank you!!! I hope you enjoy it! :D

Hinata staggered and laughed as several hands ruffled into his hair.

“Nice one, Hinata!”

“Woo! I still can’t get over that jump.”

“Alright, you all are gonna get your sweat on him. Hit the showers!” The captain shouted, whipping a few of his kouhai with a towel.

Hinata preened as he followed his new senpai to the locker room. He had been petrified about joining a University team, especially one without any of his old teammates. All of them had gone to different colleges or reluctantly gave up volleyball to concentrate on their studies. He had been certain that he’d have to start from scratch doing whatever he could to be seen and acknowledged, but that wasn’t the case at all. Many of his new teammates had heard of him before and even witnessed Karasuno playing at Nationals the year before. Half of them couldn’t wait to see his jump up close and the other half couldn’t wait to try and shut it down on the other side of the net.

One difference between playing volleyball in high school compared to college was the size of his teammates. Slipping through the crowded locker room was like navigating a jungle of sweaty tree trunks that had no perception of how big they were. Luckily, Hinata was just as agile off the court as he was on and had a finesse about weaving through his senpai and hopping over the bench in the middle. He nearly got hit in the face by a locker and swerved out of the way at the last second, only to run smack into someone’s chest. A bare, freshly showered and _hard_ chest.

Hinata grimaced before he even looked up, already having an idea who it was. He gulped as he raised his face and was met with a sultry smirk hovering over him. Kindaichi leaned his arm against Hinata’s locker and hooked his other hand on his hip, above the precariously placed towel that was one nudge away from dropping to the floor.

“Enjoying the limelight, Shoyou? You know it’s not going to last once they let us go head-to-head and I kick your ass.”

It took every ounce of self-control to keep his eyes on Kindaichi’s face and not the glorious evidence of how well he’d grown over the past three years. Hinata had bulked up a little through rigorous training, but Kindaichi wore it even better with his impressive height, broad shoulders, rippling abdomen. It was hard enough just looking at his face with his black hair slicked back from his shower and the challenging smile that was just as fond as it was provoking.

Hinata grinned back at him and laughed. “I think we both know that you still can’t catch me, even with that unnecessary height of yours. Pretty sad really.”

Kindaichi’s eyes narrowed slightly and Hinata’s grin widened. It was always this way with them, a playful back-and-forth of challenges ever since that first-year training camp in Miyagi. After that initial training, they’ve battled in practice matches and tournaments, their rivalry gaining so much momentum that they both forgot about their previous desire to defeat Kageyama. His clueless best friend, however, always gave them quizzical looks as Hinata and Kindaichi trash-talked between the net. Occasionally, they’d meet up randomly around town, shops or festivals, and somehow, they always ended up walking around with each other. Kindaichi had a mutual respect with Tsukishima as well from that training camp their first year, but Hinata felt a little squirm of pleasure that Kindaichi didn’t seem as friendly with him as he did Hinata. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he wanted to do anything he could to push it further.

It was beyond his wild expectations when they met as roommates at University at the start of the year. He can still remember the look of surprise on Kindaichi’s face when he answered the door to find Hinata standing there, and he’ll never forget how the surprise melted into excitement. Kindaichi laughed at first, whining that, with them on the same team, he’ll never be able to defeat him like he always wanted to. But eventually, they shook hands and declared that together they could finally beat Kageyama.

“Kindaichi! Are you bullying Hinata?” One of their seniors barked their way and both Kindaichi and Hinata flinched.

“Uh, no! We’re just messing around, we’re friends!” Kindaichi chuckled nervously and wrapped his arm around Hinata’s neck, pulling him into his chest. Hinata mentally groaned and tried to think of anything but Kindaichi’s bicep pillowing his cheek and the warmth of his damp skin.

“Yeah, it’s true, Senpai. If anything, I bully him more than he does me because I always beat him.”

Hinata gasped as the arm gripped tighter and rough knuckles rubbed against his scalp.

“Ha, ha, ha, you’re so funny, Shou.”

“Alright, as long as it’s all in good fun. Let him go though, he’s still gotta shower.”

“Ew, gross,” Kindaichi whined as he shoved Hinata away and wiped himself of the germs. Hinata rolled his eyes and flipped open his locker, slipping his jersey over his head to toss inside. In his peripheral vision, he could see Kindaichi remove his towel completely, a blur of tan skin that sent his mind skyrocketing into a million directions, every one of them as dangerous as the next.

_Focus, focus. This locker is blue… it’s got a little rust. My clothes are smelly, uh…_

Distracting himself didn’t seem to be helping, so Hinata took a long swig of water and dropped the rest of his clothes. He didn’t look back as he rushed off toward the showers and for once was relieved that all the hot water was gone.

The locker room was nearly empty by the time he’d finished, much to his relief. He dressed quickly into a T-shirt and warm sweat pants and sighed when his body stopped trembling from his chilly shower. He needed to get a grip on himself, otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before Kindaichi found out about his massive crush on him.

It had started back in their second year when their rivalry became friendlier. The first ones to pick up on it was Tsukishima and Ennoshita, of course, and his senpai was too kind to tease him about it and Tsukishima seemed to enjoy watching him suffer in silence. Hinata was grateful neither had spoken about it to him or anyone else, at least as far as he knew.

But now that they were roommates it was even harder keeping it a secret. Hinata’s face was perpetually red from seeing Kindaichi in casual clothes, his jersey, pajamas, and especially no clothes at all. And even more than having his roommate’s hotness always on display, there was something else blossoming between them that made it even harder to keep his feelings at bay.

“Took you long enough.”

Hinata gasped and whirled around outside the locker room doors, his hands up in karate form in preparation for a fight. Kindaichi’s laugh echoed throughout the gym and he shifted his bag further up his shoulder as he wrapped his arm back around Hinata.

“You idiot, did you think I left without you?”

“Well, maybe.”

“We’re going to the same place!”

“I-I know!”

Kindaichi said nothing else but snickered as he snuck his fingers into Hinata’s damp hair, giving it a little ruffle. Hinata couldn’t resist leaning into his hold, still a little cold from his shower and relished in the heat pouring off Kindaichi. His shirt was soft against Hinata’s skin and it could have been his imagination but Kindaichi seemed to pull him in tighter after Hinata pressed against him.

They were quiet as they wandered through campus, occasionally laughing as Hinata had to jog with Kindaichi’s regular walking stride. A few girls gaped at Kindaichi as he walked by and giggled when they passed. Jealousy gripped into Hinata’s chest. He needed to come to terms with the fact that Kindaichi was sure to snatch up a girlfriend soon and he needed to prepare himself for it.

Despite what he thought initially, Kindaichi was just as nice as he was attractive. His first impression had been founded on his alarming height and his frustration with Kageyama. At least Kindaichi’s beef with Kageyama faded with time and Hinata was able to see who he was underneath. By third year he was the captain of Seijoh, and his team had just as much respect for him as they did the previous captains.

_Who wouldn’t fall in love with him?_ Hinata thought grimly and sighed so heavily it felt like his soul had escaped his body.

“What’s with that? Did something upset you?” Kindaichi’s tone was playful, but Hinata could hear the edge of concern.

“Nah, just thinking about stuff.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Oh.”

Hinata could feel the drop in Kindaichi’s shoulders, and he glanced up to see his roommate’s mouth pinched tight and his eyes looking far away. The change in his mood was obvious and it left Hinata bewildered. Did he say something wrong?

The earlier silence had been comfortable but suddenly it was filled with awkward tension. Hinata tried thinking of anything to break the ice but worried he would just make it worse. The last thing he wanted was for Kindaichi to pull his arm away. He needed to keep that connection with him, it was all he had in the scheme of things.

But when they arrived at their dorm, Kindaichi’s arm did pull away to open the door. He held it open for Hinata but was still avoiding his eye. Hinata wasn’t sure if it was the lack of Kindaichi’s body heat or his cold treatment that sent a chill across his body, regardless he hated both.

He was ready to tear his hair out by the time they reached their room. The expression on Kindaichi’s face only hardened with time and Hinata was growing desperate. He opened his mouth to say something but flinched when Kindaichi let his bag drop hard on the floor.

“Aren’t you going to take your shoes off?” Kindaichi asked without turning around as he rummaged around in his dresser. Hinata scrambled out of his shoes and shuffled to his bed, bouncing on the mattress when he fell onto it. At last, Kindaichi shut the dresser and paused, taking in a deep breath.

“We are friends, right?”

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

Kindaichi turned and walked toward Hinata with a towel in his hands, his expression more upset than angry. He still refused to look Hinata in the eye as he sat down next to him and gently ran the towel over Hinata’s damp head.

“I was looking forward to us being close this year, but it still feels like you don’t trust me. Would you have told Kageyama what you were thinking about?”

Hinata nearly phased out with Kindaichi’s strong fingers kneading against his scalp and his deep voice stroking his ears. He fluttered his eyes as the question sank into his brain and when he thought it though he snorted loudly.

“No way! He wouldn’t want to know what I was thinking, and I’d be okay with that. We never talked about that stuff.”

“What kind of stuff.”

“Romance and love. That kind of thing went over his head.”

The towel stopped moving at the same time Hinata’s eyes widened and his body froze in horror. The words had spilled from his lips without him even thinking about it. His breath shuddered as he waited for a sign from Kindaichi, some tease or something to laugh it off. Instead, the towel slipped away from Hinata’s head and he was tugged around by Kindaichi’s hand.

“You… Do you like somebody? Who?”

Hinata blinked as Kindaichi’s eyebrows pinched tighter and licked his lips nervously. He wondered if Kindaichi could hear his heart throbbing in the quiet of their room To him, it sounded like a taiko drum banging around in his ear.

“I, yeah, maybe.”

“You’re not going to tell me who it is?”

“No!”

“Why not?!”

“Because I’m scared! Why do you want to know so much?”

“Because it’s important!”

“Why would who I like be important to you?”

“Shouldn’t it be? Don’t friends share with each other who they like?”

“I guess but you’re acting weird about it!”

“You’re acting weird about it! I just asked you a simple question!”

“Why are we yelling about this?!” Hinata shouted, gripping his hands into Kindaichi’s T-shirt. He was certain his face was bright red but at least Kindaichi’s was as well. With his fingers laying against his chest, Hinata could feel Kindaichi’s heart throbbing as fast as his own.

“I don’t know why we’re yelling, it just happened! We wouldn’t be if you’d just spit out who you like!”

“Fine, I like you, Idiot!”

Like his own heart, he swore he could feel Kindaichi’s stop for a full moment before starting up again. Releasing a breath slowly, Kindaichi stared down at him with a blank expression.

“Me?” He asked in a volume just above a whisper.

Hinata pinched his lips tight and nodded. He released Kindaichi’s shirt with trembling fingers and grabbed onto the hem of his own shirt and stared down at them.

“Since when?”

“I don’t know, a couple years. I mean, it was just a little crush back then, but it’s been hard seeing you so much and being on the same team.” Hinata dropped his face in his hands to hide the heated tears threatening his eyes. “Listen, if you want to switch rooms with someone, that’s okay. I’m sure we can be friends again eventually, but it’ll take me a while to get over you.”

“Shoyou… look at me.”

Hinata whimpered and shook his head. Kindaichi huffed a laugh and a moment later his warm hands encased over Hinata’s, pulling them gently.

“Come on.”

His hands fell away from his face but remained grasped in Kindaichi’s. Hinata stared down at them, his hands dwarfed in comparison, yet they seemed like a perfect fit. Kindaichi transferred one of Hinata’s hands to join the other and then used his freed hand to wrap around Hinata’s back to pull him closer. Hinata yelped at how easily he could move him across the mattress and sputtered as Kindaichi didn’t stop until Hinata was fully on his lap.

Finally, he cupped Hinata’s face and forced it up so they could see each other properly. Kindaichi didn’t look disgusted or dejected. His eyes were wide and hopeful, a shy smile forming on his lips. Hinata shivered as his fingers stroked across his face and he waited expectantly for Kindaichi to speak.

“My crush on you started first year,” Kindaichi finally said, squeezing his eyes shut. When Hinata didn’t say anything for a few moments, he opened one eye to peek at his reaction.

“First year?!”

“Yeah, well, everything changed when I got to know you better at training camp. Before that, I actually thought your manager was cute.”

“Kiyoko-san?”

“No, well, yes, she was beautiful, but I was talking about Yachi.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“Yeah, I always had a thing for cute girls. And then the more time I spent with you, I realized that I thought you were even cuter and then I was screwed. Kunimi never let me live it down either, the bastard.”

“You told Kunimi?”

“I didn’t need to, he figured it out.”

“Oh, yeah I think Tsukishima knew I liked you.”

“Ugh, he would.”

“Yeah.”

They both looked at each other and laughed. Hinata’s body felt limp with relief though nervous anticipation was coiling up inside him. He bit his lip and curled his fingers into Kindaichi’s shirt. He took a deep breath to continue the conversation, but his words never had a chance when Kindaichi leaned in. Hinata gasped as warm lips pressed against his own and Kindaichi pulled away immediately.

“I’m sorry! I should have asked first, I just thought it felt right and—” Kindaichi yelped as Hinata shoved him back on the bed and pinned him down.

“You don’t have to ask, Stupid,” Hinata laughed, still smiling as he kissed Kindaichi back. He shivered as Kindaichi’s hands slid up his thighs to his waist, his strong fingers gripping into his skin. His lips were warm and soft, and soon Hinata forgot all about pinning him down as he slipped his hands up to cradle Kindaichi’s neck.

A whine escaped Hinata’s lips as one of Kindaichi’s hands raked up his spine, heat spreading from every pressure point of his fingertips. The expanse of Kindaichi’s palm was so vast that one hand seemed to cover his back completely, a fact that made Hinata squirm with delight. He was already drowning in the number of things he liked about Kindaichi, making out with him on his bed made it even worse.

Hinata lifted from the kiss to catch his breath, fluttering his eyes as he gazed at Kindaichi beneath him. His broad chest was heaving as he did the same, his cheeks flushed with color. Hinata felt a strange shyness as he smiled down at him, but any trepidation he had melted away as Kindaichi beamed back at him. His eyes scoured Hinata’s face, memorizing every facet as his hand cupped Hinata’s cheek.

It startled Hinata when a flicker of mischief invaded Kindaichi’s soft smile. There was no time to question it when he was abruptly flipped over onto his back and pressed into the mattress. Kindaichi’s laughter filled their small dorm room as he smothered Hinata with his oversized body. He only lifted off when he heard Hinata gasping dramatically for air and smirked down at his face.

“Got you, Shoyou,” Kindaichi teased and snickered at the scowl on Hinata’s face. He leered as he edged down and nuzzled against Hinata’s ear. Goosebumps fluttered across Hinata’s skin and he bit his lip hard to keep from giggling. He melted instantly however as Kindaichi’s lips pressed gentle kisses against his neck. His breath shuddered as he tipped his head back, relinquishing all control to his new boyfriend.

“You win this round, but I’ll get you next time.”

Kindaichi chuckled deep in his chest, his hot breath ghosting across Hinata’s sensitive skin. “Good, I look forward to it.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the Anon who requested this, I'm so weak for this ship, it's too darn cute!! I have one more request to go *cough cough bokurodai cough* and the final chapter of dragons of Seijoh! I may be a little quiet during the month of February since I'm concentrating on more original stuff, but if I'm doing well on my goal I may dabble with some things... b/c I'm weak what can I say? Lol. When I come back I'll probably be concentrating on my Kurodai Merlin AU! If you haven't checked it out yet I already have the first two parts!


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